Emirati-built moon Rashid Rover ready for launch today
DUBAI: An Emirati-built moon rover atached to a Japanese lander has been integrated onto a Spacex Falcon 9 rocket for launch on Wednesday, according to Nasa.
The launch will take place from Launch Complex 40 pad at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The live coverage of the event will start at 10am UAE time. The launch of the 10 kilograms Rashid Rover will mark the 55th launch for Spacex in 2022.
Once launched, the integrated spacecrat will take a low-energy route to the moon rather than a direct approach, which means the landing will take about five months ater launch, in April 2023.
The announcement follows the confirmation of Rashid Rover’s landing site, which will be Atlas crater, located at 47.5°N, 44.4°E, on the southeastern outer edge of Mare Frigoris (Sea of Cold), chosen to maintain flexibility during operations. Mare Frigoris lies in the far lunar north.
The primary landing site was chosen along with multiple contingencies, which may be used depending on variables that occur during transit.
The site meets the technical specifications of the lander technology demonstration mission and the scientific exploration objectives for the ELM mission.
The Rashid Rover, once landed, will explore the characteristics of lunar soil, the petrography and geology of the Moon, dust movement, surface plasma conditions, and the Moon’s photoelectron sheath.
The novel discovery within the unexplored lunar site is one of the many reasons why the Emirates Lunar Mission is one of the most anticipated moon missions.
The Rashid Rover is expected to cover a distance of 385,000 km, in a mission in which the UAE is the first in the Arab world and the fourth worldwide in lunar exploration.
Al Khaleej newspaper, sister publication of Gulf Today, interviewed the project team.
The team revealed that the explorer, which will roam all over the surface of the moon, traveling between new sites that have not been studied before, over an extendable 14 Earth days, will capture thousands of images and data, using devices and technologies for the first time.
It will then send these images and data to the ground station of Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre, they said.
The project is a continuation of the UAE’S strategy in exploring outer space.
On Sept.29, 2020, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the Emirates Lunar Mission in a precedent that supports the UAE’S efforts to advance its space industries.
The mission’s primary goal is to study the Moon’s plasma and to provide answers about Moon dust, the lunar surface, mobility on the Moon’s surface, and how different surfaces interact with lunar particles.
The Rashid Rover will have the latest technologies and innovative devices and is distinguished by its ability to resist the lunar surface temperature, which drops to -173° Celsius.
The mission embodies the aspirations of the UAE in this field, by collecting images and information that allow the country to conduct comprehensive and integrated studies of building human setlements on the Moon, prepare for future missions to study the red planet, and provide the scientific community with answers about the solar system, and other planets.
Rashid Rover will provide about 10 gigabytes of recorded material, scientific data, and new images to the global scientific community. It aims to study the Moon’s plasma and to provide answers about Moondust, the lunar surface, mobility on the Moon’s surface and how different surfaces interact with lunar particles.
Previously, many countries launched scientific missions to the lunar surface, including the United States, Russia and China. Today, India and Japan are leading various scientific missions to study the surface of the Moon and explore its data and details.
Salem Almarri, Director-general of MBRSC, said, “The Emirates Lunar Mission (ELM) will engineer a new scientific reality for Emiratis and pave the way for more space exploration missions by the MBRSC. This mission also exemplifies the nation’s spirit of innovation and scientific progress while contributing to global space science research and explorations.”
Almarri added, “The countdown has begun for the nation’s much-awaited mission – Emirates Lunar Mission. We will create history with the launch date in November… We will witness the launch of the Rashid Rover, bringing us closer to our big goal: Exploring the surface of the Moon and offering novel data to the scientific community.”
With several days until the launch, the Emirates Lunar Mission team has spent time rehearsing their roles and individual surface goals for when the landing day will take centre stage.